


Your Mind Speaks to Me

by orphan_account



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, High School, Love Confessions, M/M, Rejection, Sleepovers, Telepathic!Tord, Tom plays hard to get, super fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 04:49:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11502108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Tord is telepathic and Tom is an angsty teen.





	Your Mind Speaks to Me

_'What is his deal?'_

Everyday goes on like this, with him hearing thouhts that aren't his own.

_'Can't he learn to be a decent human being?'_

It sucks, because sometimes the thoughts are about him. Other times, it's about things he doesn't want to know about.

_'God, I wish he would just leave me and my friends alone.'_

And this is one of those times where Tord can no longer just sit and listen, "They aren't only your friends, Thomas." He says this, almost hissing it at the boy sitting in front of him and glaring daggers.

The boy in front of him, other known as Tom, falters with his glare and looks at Tord like he's just seen a ghost. "Did I... say those things out loud?"

No.

"Yes."

"Oh." Tom mumbles and ducks his head down so Tord wouldn't be able to see the mortified expression on his face. Even without looking at him, Tord can still understand how he's feeling. He doesn't want to, but he just can. And he hates it.

Throughout his whole life, ever since he was nothing but a little toddler, he could hear things in his head. He wasn't insane, but instead he had a gift. An ability. A power. Something that he never asked for and did not want.

It hurts his head when he's in a crowded room. Multiple voices show up into his mind, and he hates the things they think about. He hates how they'll sing horrible song lyrics in their minds, or they'll fret over something small in their heads, or they'll fantasize about dirty and disgusting things.

Tord can hear people's thoughts.

And it only gets worse.

When he was younger, he told both his fathers of this and pleaded for them to do something to fix him. They took him to doctors, but the only thing those assholes did was put him on medication, thinking that he had some depressive mental disease. Tord is not sick. Tord is not insane.

Tord is tired, however. Tired of listening to Tom fret in his mind about how much he embarrassed himself. Truth is, the annoying, no-eyed boy had nothing to feel embarrassed about, because he didn't say anything out loud. It's Tord who should feel embarrassed, because he heard Tom's thoughts and should have just shut them out.

But, geez, did he really want to hear his thoughts.

Tord hates Tom. Tord adores Tom.

He adores the boy the same way you would a mean cat who does cute things but constantly scratches you. He adores him the same way you would when you get an annoying card in the mail from a grandma who doesn't know about email yet.

He tolerates him. He finds him annoying.

But, he also kind of wants Tom to corporate with him and hold his hand without protest. And if that's too much to ask, than looking at Tord without hate in his gaze would be the next priority.

It's only a matter of time before his friends find out about his curse, but for now he manages to keep it a secret. However, it's really embarrassing to hear their thoughts sometimes. Which is exactly why Tord taught himself a nifty trick to shut out the thoughts of other's by putting up a metaphorical barrier on his mind, and this sort of leads to a lot of energy being taken away. But it's worth it.

Right now, however, Tord's metaphoric wall is slightly down and he is listening into Tom's mind.

_'I'm such an idiot.'_

Tord wants nothing more but to tell Tom that no, he isn't an idiot. But if he does that, he'll practically be putting them both in an even more awkward situation. It's a shame that he has to listen to Tom talk to himself, fretting and worrying over dumb things, and can't even do anything about it.

It's always been like this, and it hurts even more when he hears the next thing.

_'I just can't wait till next period to see her.'_

Who is _her_?

The way Tom says ' _her_ ' sounds like how one would sound when talking about a long awaited friend, someone that he misses looking at and being with. Does Tom want to be with a girl on a romantic level? Does he want to date her and kiss her and hold her hand?

Being telepathic doesn't mean Tord knows everything, and this is one of those situations. Never before has Tom ever brought into topic a ' _her_ ', whether it's in conversation or just in his thoughts.

And even though Tord wants to think about it more and more, his thought process is interrupted by Edd and Matt appearing at the table.

"Sorry that took awhile, guys." Edd asks for forgiveness and sits down beside Tom.

Matt, meanwhile, rounds the table to sit next to Tord, "The lunch line was huge!" Even though it should be an inconvenience, the fact that the line was long seems to excite Matt. Edd smiles politely at this and Tom just continues to frown, but Tord is too busy racking his brain over Tom's earlier thought to pay too much attention.

Who is _her_?

"So, its Friday." Edd says and Tord already knows what he's going to suggest.

"That it is." Tom responds with, dipping his head down to show that he's not interested, but his thoughts are occupied with concern over what Edd could be implying.

"Maybe we should all have a sleepover tonight!" Matt claps loudly.

"I was just about to suggest that!" Edd smiles excitedly, and Tord already can hear the cola-lover's thoughts of planning the sleepover. ' _Scary movie. No. That's scary. Romantic movie? I'm not a wuss. How about a Disney movie! Yes! And popcorn and we'll play games and have fun!_ '

Tord doesn't bother to listen to the rest.

"What do you say, Tord?" Matt turns to the other and smiles kindly, to which Tord responds with an even kinder smile.

"Sure." His accent pokes out through his reply and he nods his head for even further approval.

"What about you, Tom?" Edd turns to him. Tord can hear Tom thinking about what to say, fretting on the correct answer. He isn't giving a reason as to why, but it's clear that he doesn't want to go. However, on the outside, he's completely stoic.

It only takes a couple seconds before Tom says, "Sure. Whatever." Matt and Edd high five and plan the sleepover while Tom thinks and Tord listens. However, no matter what Tom thinks about, Tord still can't figure out why he doesn't want to go to the sleepover and who _her_ is.

It's a long period, but eventually lunch is over. Tom seems excited and gets up to leave in a hurry, leaving behind the rest of the gang. No one really notices this tiny detail, all except Tord.

.:.

It's later in the night and all four boys sit around in Edd's basement. Despite it being a basement, the area is more of a common room; furniture being pushed together to look very pleasing to the eye and the lighting being just right. They were chilling now, watching the tv and sitting in their respective spots on the couches.

"So! Want to watch another movie?" It's later in the night and Edd seems way too energized to go to sleep now. They've already watched two movies, both of them being Disney, and it's clear that Edd is going to suggest another movie of the same genre.

"I rather not." Tom sighed. He's sitting on a single chair that he has propped his feet on the arm rest of. In his thoughts, Tord could see that he wanted to be anywhere but here. But why?

"Oh, well then, what do you want to do?" Edd suggests. Matt is sitting beside him and, despite looking very excited a few minutes ago, looks to be near passing out now. He has a lazy smile on his face as he watches his friends decide on what to do next.

"I don't know." Tom answers.

"A game?"

"Sure." Tord decides to chime in and shrugs. He gets a glare from Tom because of this, but he couldn't care less. Tom is on the opposite side of the room as him, so it's easy to see that the glare is directed right at him.

"What kind of game?" Edd asks, suddenly much more interested.

"I don't know. Definitely not a board game, though."

"What other games could there be, commie?" Tom hisses in his direction.

Suddenly, Tord for a wicked idea.

"Why, 'Truth or Dare', of course." He sings aloud, looking at Tom to see his face suddenly drain in disinterest. Tord can hear his thoughts jumbling together about how he doesn't want to play. Obviously, he's hiding something. "Edd, can we please play 'Truth or Dare'?"

"I don't see why not! Let's do it!" Edd claps and this wakes up Matt from his half-asleep state. The ginger bolts up and claps along, even though it's clear that he doesn't know why he's clapping. Poor guy.

"Edd, isn't there any other game we can play?" Tom nearly pleads.

"Don't be a chicken, Tommy! It's only a game."  Tord teases, watching as Tom's expression goes from one of anxious to distain as he makes his eyes to the other.

"Fine." And it's at that, where the game truly begins.

"Okay! So, Tord! Truth or Dare?" Edd asks, nearly falling from his seat in excitement. He probably is having a sugar rush, now that Tord thinks about it. He did have three candy bars when they started the night.

"Truth."

"Boring! But alright," Edd thinks for a question to ask, "What was your favorite movie that we watched tonight?"

"You say I'm boring? That's a boring question!" Tord laughs and Edd folds his arms jokingly.

"Just answer it."

"I liked the one about the mermaid. Kind of cool." Tord answers and both, Edd and Matt, nod their heads to show that they too liked the movie. "Alright... Tom! Truth or Dare?"

His original plan wasn't to immediately pick on Tom, but it was the only thing running through his mind and he panicked. It's fine though, because all he needs to do is ask what Tom did after lunch today, then he'll find out who her is.

"Dare."

Fuck.

He didn't really think this through.

"I dare you to... pick truth next time." This is going horribly.

"Uh... okay?" Tom looks puzzled, but then looks to Matt, "Truth or Dare."

"Dare!" Matt shouts.

"I dare you to... put four ice cubes in your mouth." Tom shrugs. At this, Matt abruptly stands up and rushes to the mini-fridge that's near the stairwell of the basement. Tord can see him pop four ice cubes in his mouth, and the look of pain honestly almost makes him laugh. The ginger comes back and he looks like he no longer wants the ice cubes in his mouth already.

"Aeeh... hh... eeeh?" Matt tries to speak but no one can understand him.

"Sorry, Matt. It's rude to talk with your mouth full." Tom snickers and even Edd is trying not to laugh.

Times like these that Tord has to admire Tom. He's perfect.

"How long does he have to keep them in there?" Edd asks, now looking at the ginger in concern. Matt is trying to melt the ice as quickly as he can, but it's obvious that it's almost too cold for him.

"Eh, he can take them out now." Tom says and Matt immediately spits the cubes out onto his hand.

"I hate this game." He says, going to throw away the ice in a trash can near the couch.

"Do you want to stop playing?" Edd has pure concern written all over his face. He cares way too much for all his friend's well-being.

"Nope!" And suddenly Matt is back to being cheery and happy. He looks to Tom and grins evilly. "Truth or Dare! Tom!"

Hopefully the boy remembers his Dare to pick truth next time he's asked, but then again it wouldn't matter. Tord had hoped that he'd be one to ask him next time, but now it's just pointless.

"Truth." And even though he does remember, Tord can't find a bone in him that cares.

"Who do you like?" Matt asks and suddenly Tord cares again.

It's silent and Tom hasn't answered. Everyone is looking right at him expectantly and he's looking spaced off, a wide eyed expression on his features.

"You know... isn't this game for little kids?" Tom stalls. Tord tries everything he can to read his mind, but all he is getting is 'no' being repeated over and over again. What is there to hide? What makes him think that he can't tell his three closest 'friends' (Tord isn't his friend, but he's a lot closer to him than most)?

"One more round and then we'll end the game." Edd smiles. He probably thinks he's being helpful.

Tom just stares, and then suddenly he's fake yawning.

"Oh, boy! Am I tired! Long day at school, right? Haha. Anyway, see you guys after I dream! Bye bye!" And he flings himself into a fetal position of the single chair cushion he's on and pretends to sleep and snore.

"Oh, no fun, Thomas!" Tord sings, about to get up from his seat and kick Tom off of his chair.

"Actually, I'm getting tired too." Matt actually yawns.

"Yeah, me too. What about you, Tord?" Edd asks.

"Nope. But it's okay, I usually stay up later." Tord sighs, knowing he's lost the battle. He knows, deep down, that Tom is hiding something. He also knows that Tom is not sleepy at all and that he, too, stays up late. But he can't just call him out on that in front of everyone, especially sense he just now picked that from his thoughts.

"Okay, cool. Goodnight." And then Edd grabs a blanket and situates himself on the floor. Matt makes himself a bed on the couch and goes to sleep like a light, while Edd is still trying to set his bed up. Tom, meanwhile, has his thoughts still jumbled up and moving around wildly. By the time that Tom manages to calm down, Edd is already sleep too.

So, now it's just Tom and Tord that's awake. Only, Tom is facing away from him and continuing to fake snore, only it's dimmed down now that he's starting to realize it's pointless.

"I know you're awake." Tord whispers quietly enough so that he won't wake up Edd and Matt.

"Stop it." Tom says back, not whispering as quietly as Tord did.

Tord, however, silently gets up from his spot on his chair and makes his way over to Tom's. He tries his best to not make too much noise, for he doesn't want Tom to know that he's right next to him.

At this distance, Tord can hear his thoughts really well. From where he sat back there, the connection was faint and Tord could only get the things in Tom's mind that were shouted. Now, at this distance, he can even hear the things that are being whispered in his head.

_'I hope no one brings this up again.'_

Is he referring to the question about who he likes?

_'They'll hate me and it'll be embarrassing.'_

What will be embarrassing? That he likes some girl in his class?

_'I'll always just be alone anyway.'_

Did Tom get rejected by the girl he likes? Who could reject Tom? He's amazing, and funny, and kind, and cute, and hot, and amazing, and hot.

_'What did Tord do anyways?'_

Wait, what?

"What did I do?" And just like that, Tord fucked up.

Suddenly, Tom flings himself back and is looking at Tord with wide eyes, fear and shock written all over his face.

"I know for a fact I didn't say that out loud." Tom says, looking as terrified as ever.

"Uhm...." Tord needs to just leave this house and walk back to his own, but he continues to stand there directly in front of Tom, looking down at him laying on the chair, with nothing to say. "Would you believe me if I said you did?"

"No." Tom narrowed his eyebrows, anger making itself evident on his expression. "What the fuck is going on?"

Maybe there was a way to get around this, to come up with an excuse that could get Tord by without problem. If only he was good at lying under pressure, because now his mouth is gaping and he's working his brain to come up with an excuse.

"I want the truth, Tord." Tom says, and there's a certain hint of something in his tone. It's no long just angry. It's also exasperated, as if he's tired of being lied to. If Tord was in his right mind, he would read Tom's thoughts to see what the meaning behind his tone meant, but he's freaking out too much.

"I... can't." Tord decides to give it to him straight.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"It's a secret."

"A secret? Tord, you just basically read my mind, how can you call it a secret? How did you do that?" Little does Tom know, Tord didn't 'practically' read his mind, instead he actually did. But he can't just say that. Can he?

"It's a trick I learned." Tord stalled. Maybe he can lie and come up with something even more outrageous, like saying he's a magian. Would that even help his case?

"A 'reading minds' trick?"

"I didn't fricking read your mind, you idiot! I just asked what I did!"

"No, you knew what I was thinking. I know you did!"

"You're lying."

" _You're_ lying!"

They're getting too loud and Tord knows this because he can hear Matt's thoughts stirring slightly awake. Damn it.

Tord takes Tom by the arm and pulls him from the couch, almost causing him to fall down. Before Tom can shout out a profanity, Tord cups his mouth and practically carries him to the basement bathroom, throwing him in there only to accompany him inside and shut the door.

"What the fuck was that?" Tom hissed out, whispering as if the bathroom needs to be quiet inside.

"You were shouting."

" _You_ were shouting!"

"Shut up." Tord demands, his expression turning sour as he glares at the boy in front of him. They're alone in a bathroom together and if anyone wakes up to find them in there, it'll take a lot of explaining. Especially sense the room is so small already, the two boys practically standing on each other's feet because of it.

"Tell me what's going on." Tom demands right back.

"God! Just. Calm down! Let me think!" Tord rubs his head. His brain is working too hard, his mind is practically exploding. It doesn't help that he can hear everything Tom is thinking either. He needs to get him to stop. "Just stop it!"

"Stop what? What am I doing?"

"Stop it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Tord is crouching down and holding his head.

  
_'What's going on?'_

_'I can't deal with this.'  
_

_'Why is he yelling at me?'_

_'I hate him.'_

_'What's his deal?'_

_'I don't want to be here.'_

 

_'Why would I ever be friends with him?'_

_'I wish I never came here.'_

  
Tom's thoughts kept shouting everywhere across the room, aching Tord's mind and causing him to nearly scream out in pain. If there was a way to get Tom to stop thinking, he would do that. How? How? How?

"Tom, Tom, listen. Stop and listen." Now Tord is pleading for the other boy to pay attention to him, and it works only for a little while. Tom's mind stops momentarily to see what Tord wants, but quickly starts back up again to think about what he wants and why he's on the floor and in pain.

"What?" Tom glares.

"I can read minds." Once again, Tord blows it.

It's silent. Tom's mind stops.

Tord eventually finds it in him to relax and stand up. He doesn't dare turn on his metaphorical mind barriers, because that'd only take away too much energy that he currently needs. On the bright side, Tom's mind is quiet, however not silent. It's whispering things. Whispering "why's" and "what's".

"Tom, I'm telling the truth. Think of something and I'll know what it is." This should be a secret, but Tom would only get more upset if Tord ends up telling him that he 'lied'. Even though he isn't lying, there is still no point in backing out and telling him lie upon another lie.

Tom continues to stare at Tord, his mind blank and searching for something to think about.

"I need you to think of one thing. Otherwise, I won't be able to understand." Tord requests.

_'You're a liar.'_

Okay, so, that's fair. But, jokes on Tom, because Tord smiles and repeats back to him what he's thinking.

"What the hell?" Tom's mouth is gaping, he's shocked and disbelieving. "No, no. Let's do it again. Let me think of something else."

Tord just nods and lets him.

"Do you have it yet?" He asks after a minute of Tom racking his brain of useless words and things that he would only know about. Needless to say, Tord doesn't want to look into Tom's mind anymore if his thoughts keeps going into the gutter of what he does in his spare time.

"Uhm...." Something pops into Tom's mind, "yeah."

_'I like you.'_

Tord feels heat rush into his cheeks and he's pretty sure his face is sporting an ugly color of pink that clashes with his usually tan skin. This is all the confirmation that Tom needs to realize that Tord knows what he just thought of.

"Holy shit! You can actually read minds?! How? What!" Tom is asking a million things per second while his mind is thinking of a million other things to ask.

"Wait, stop. Rule number one, I need you to stop thinking so much." Tord holds onto Tom's shoulder as he presses a finger to his own temple and massages it, trying to release the tension and stress.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Tom tries to clear his mind, but there are still some thoughts popping up. Thoughts like _'how is this possible?'_ And _'can he hear what I'm thinking now?'_

"Yes." Tord instinctively answers Tom's question and sees the boy in front of him flush. "Sorry, it's a habit I'm forming." He sheepishly replies.

"No, it's fine. Uhm...." Tom answers, but then his mind rewinds to when he confessed his feelings for Tord inside his mind. "I'm sorry about the whole... _'I like you'_ thing."

"What? Why?"

"Well... I don't think you'd feel the same. I mean, we kind of hate each other. Only, I kind of like you too." Tom is rambling ever so slightly, and Tord smiles at this. He takes the boy's hand in his own and brings them up to his own tan cheeks, pressing Tom's soft, pale finger tips against his face.

"Don't be silly. I like you too." Tord whispers as lovely as he can. He feels Tom's fingertips twitch slightly against his skin, then relax.

"Okay." Is his reply.

"Can I ask you a question?" This might be a good chance to ask about who _her_ is, and maybe about why he didn't want to come to the sleepover.

"Uhm, sure?"

"What did you do after lunch?"

And now Tom's mind is thinking again, but it's less panicked. It's more sad and calculating, but he eventually does find it in him to answer truthfully, "I went to the councilor."

"Was that who _her_ is?"

"Uhm... I guess?"

"Why did you go to the councilor?"

"I... it was mainly about you, I guess. I... was upset about you hating me and it was sort of... on my mind." Tom cracked a small smile, but it quickly fell.

"Tom, I think I know what was on your mind." Tord jokes and grips Tom's hand tighter. "But I had no idea it bothered you that much. You should say these things out loud to me."

"Ha. Maybe." It's clear that Tom is still processing Tord's abilities to read minds, but he's refusing to say anything, even going as far to try to not even think anything about it, "You were kind of a bully to me though, so I wouldn't have said anything anyway." 

Not gonna lie, that last comment bites.

"Can I ask you another question?" Tord asks.

"Sure."

"Why didn't you want to come to the sleepover?"

"Wha-- oh. Uhm... because I didn't want to see you." Well, that's a nice thing to hear after being confessed to.

"Oh."

"Yep. My turn to ask a question."

"Alright, shoot."

"Okay so," Tom looked right at Tord's eyes and kept that gaze, his hand now holding the other's as well, "How long were you able to do this?"

Tord assumes that he referring to his ability to read minds, so he answers, "Since I was young."

"And you never told anyone?"

"Only my parents."

"So," Tom flushes, "am I the first one of your friends to know?"

"Considering how my only friends are you, Edd, and Matt. And I already told my parents. Yeah. I guess so." Tord smiles and this causes Tom to flush more and smile back.

They're standing in front of each other, having just confessed things to each other that meant a lot to both of them. They can't stop staring in each other's gazes, and Tom's fingers curl into Tord's cheeks while they continue to hold hands against his face. It's a weird position, they both agree on, but they like it because this is the closest they've ever been. Physically and emotionally.

"So." Tord whispers.

"So." Tom whispers back.

"Are we... dating?" He can't help himself from asking, but they basically both confessed their feelings for each other and Tord even went as far to dropping a huge secret he's kept his whole life. Maybe, in the future, Tord will look back on this day and think that his young, teenager mind was silly to trust someone so much at this moment, but he can't help himself. At this moment, it feels like they'll last forever in this spot, in the small square bathroom, standing so close to each other that they could kiss. When Tom says yes, they'll live together and love each other. They'll probably have a house on a hill and have a scenic landscape and view to look out on every morning. And maybe they can adopt eight kids and grow old togeth--

"Nah."

"What?"

"Nah."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't want to date you."

"But you just said you liked me!"

"Yeah, but, I want to get to know you more. I'm not going to just date someone who I just found out doesn't hate me. I'm not shallow." Tom has a smug look at his face and Tord can't help from staring at him like a complete idiot. Maybe Tord was rushing into things, but how is he not in a relationship right now? They could've kissed just seconds ago. This is stupid. Boys are stupid. Maybe Tord should just be straight.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Don't look so upset, oh my god." Tom looks a lot more happy now, and he leans up to kiss Tord's cheek. He moves his hand away from the other's grip and put its to his side, looking at Tord with a glint of light in his eyes.

Despite being rejected, Tord was just kissed on the cheek. Never before has he been kissed on the cheek by someone other than his dads. And even then, they don't it that much. So there Tord is, blushing like a huge mess, because some eyeless boy kissed him on the cheek after rejecting him.

"We should probably go to bed."

"Uh-huh."

"You ready to go?"

"Uh-huh."

"Tord, seriously. Move, you're blocking the door."

"... uh...huh."

"I'm going to kick you. Move."

It's stupid and silly, but Tord leans down and kisses Tom's cheek back. Before a reaction was given, he moves to open the door and busts out of the bathroom, quick to speed walk to his side of the basement and sit in his position of his assigned chair. When he makes his seat, he sees Tom stroll over to his chair on the opposite side of the room and sit down.

They look at each other.

Tom smiles, but then he moves to lay down on the chair. The eyeless boy turns over and faces away from Tord, almost as if playing hard to get.

Regardless, Tord can still hear Tom screaming, repeatedly, in his mind:

_'YES! FINALLY!'_


End file.
